<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
       "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
  <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
  <title>NASA Receives $18 Billion in Omnibus Spending Bill</title>
  <meta name="description" content="NASA will receive $18 billion for 2015, more than a half a billion dollars above the Obama administration’s original request, under the terms of an omnibus spending bill released late Dec. 9." />
  
  <meta name="news_keywords" content="nasa, nasa budget, space budget, appropriations bill, congress, us government, omnibus spending bill" />
  <meta name="robots" content="NOINDEX" />
  <meta name="google-site-verification" content="MbXIxQZKTmppqEDFE0bdWHdQq_OSDiASMxZeFX1x-3k" />
  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://i.space.com/images/site/favicon.ico" />
  <script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"></script>

  <script>window.ONSWIPE_USR = 'space'</script>
  <script src="http://assets.onswipe.com/synapse/on.js?usr=space" id="onswipe_synapse"></script>

  <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Economica:400,700' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
  <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Oswald:300,400' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
  <link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:400,300,600,700' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

  <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.7.2/jquery.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
  <script src="/javascripts/site.js?1415208434" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="/javascripts/jquery.tools.min.js?1296172568" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="/javascripts/jcarousellite_1.0.1.min.js?1287503220" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="/javascripts/fixed_top_bar.js?1372777151" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="/javascripts/top_five.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
  <script>$jq = jQuery.noConflict();</script>
  
  <link href="/stylesheets/site.css?1415208434" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
  
    <link href="/stylesheets/article.css?1372429795" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="/stylesheets/article-album.css?1372429795" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="/stylesheets/article-about.css?1372444878" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="/stylesheets/poll.css?1374596614" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="/stylesheets/contents_common.css?1389224554" media="screen" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
    <script src="/javascripts/contents_common.js?1389224554" type="text/javascript"></script>


  <script type='text/javascript' src='http://ads.servebom.com/tmnhead.js'></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
    var adSlots = {};
    var pageAccount = '/10518929/tmn.sdc';
    var pageAdZone = '/spaceflight';

    adSlots.ad_leaderboard = {"targeting":{},"sizes":[[728,90],[970,66],[970,90],[970,250]]};
    adSlots.ad_billboard = {"targeting":{},"sizes":[[300,250],[300,300],[300,600],[300,1050]]};
    adSlots.ad_billboard2 = {"targeting":{},"sizes":[[300,601],[120,600],[160,600],[300,251]]};
    adSlots.ad_sense1 = {"targeting":{"adsense1":"adsense1"},"sizes":[540,185]};
    adSlots.ad_sense2 = {"targeting":{"adsense2":"adsense2"},"sizes":[620,185]};
    adSlots.ad_sense3 = {"targeting":{"adsense3":"adsense3"},"sizes":[300,300]};
    
    for(var i in adSlots){
      adSlots[i].account = pageAccount+pageAdZone;
      adSlots[i].div = i;
      tmntag.adunit(adSlots[i]);
    } 

    tmntag.adunit({account:pageAccount+pageAdZone, sizes:[640,480], div:'ad_interstitial'});
    tmntag.adunit({account:pageAccount+pageAdZone, div:'ad_skin'});

    tmntag.target({"kw":["nasa","nasa budget","space budget","appropriations bill","congress","us government","omnibus spending bill"],"site":"tmn.sdc","ctype":"article","ccat1":"spaceflight","partner":"n"});
    if(document.location.hash.indexOf('#xtor=') != -1) tmntag.target({'xtor':document.location.hash.substr((document.location.hash.indexOf('#xtor=')+6), document.location.hash.length)});
    tmntag.account(pageAccount);
    tmntag.disableSingleRequest();
    tmntag.start();
</script>
  
  <link rel='canonical' href='http://spacenews.com/nasa-receives-18-billion-in-omnibus-spending-bill/' />
<link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="http://m.space.com/27998-nasa-18-billion-omnibus-spending-bill.html" />

  <meta property="fb:app_id" content="131734303545872" />

  <meta property="og:title" content="NASA Receives $18 Billion in Omnibus Spending Bill"/>
  <meta property="og:url" content="http://www.space.com/27998-nasa-18-billion-omnibus-spending-bill.html"/>
  <meta property="og:image:height" content="900"/>
  <meta property="og:type" content="article"/>
  <meta property="og:site_name" content="Space.com"/>
  <meta property="og:description" content="NASA will receive $18 billion for 2015, more than a half a billion dollars above the Obama administration’s original request, under the terms of an omnibus spending bill released late Dec. 9."/>
  <meta property="og:image" content="http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/844/original/nasa-logo.jpg?1394675317"/>
  <meta property="og:image:width" content="1600"/>
  <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@jeff_foust">
  <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
  <meta name="twitter:site:id" content="15431856">
  <meta name="twitter:site" content="@SPACEdotcom">
  
  
<meta name='parsely-metadata'
      content='{"type": "feature", "image_url": "http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/844/i01/nasa-logo.jpg?1394675317"}'>

<meta name='parsely-page'
	  content='{"title": "NASA Receives $18 Billion in Omnibus Spending Bill | Space.com",
	            "link": "http://www.space.com/27998-nasa-18-billion-omnibus-spending-bill.html",
	            "image_url": "http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/844/i02/nasa-logo.jpg?1394675317",
	            "type": "post",
	            "post_id": "27998",
	            "pub_date": "2014-12-12 at 15:20:00PM EST",
	            "section": "Spaceflight",
	            "author": "Jeff Foust",
	            "tags": ["nasa","nasa budget","space budget","appropriations bill","congress","us government","omnibus spending bill"]
	           }'>

</head>
  <body style="background-color: #f1f2f2;">
  <script>setTimeout(function(){ pm_async_callback()}, 3000); // This call ensures after set interval the GPT call is made even if UOE call fails.</script>
 
  
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"> var om_info = {"env":"production","site":"space","display_name":"Space"}; </script>
<!-- SiteCatalyst code version: H.19.4.
Copyright 1997-2009 Omniture, Inc. More info available at
http://www.omniture.com -->
<script src="/javascripts/s_code.js?1349362732" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"><!--
/* You may give each page an identifying name, server, and channel on
the next lines. */
s.pageName="sdc:spaceflight:article:27998" //s.hier1 + Content Type:Content Type 2
s.server=""
s.channel="spaceflight" //Channel
s.prop1="" //Sub Channels
s.prop2="sdc" //Sites
s.prop3="" //Categories
s.prop16="" //Sub Categories
s.prop18="" //Product
s.prop4="article" //Content Type
s.prop17="" //Content Type 2
s.prop5="nasa receives $18 billion in omnibus spending bill" //Content Title
s.prop6="sdc-27998" //Content ID
s.prop15="" //Logged in status
//s.prop?="http://www.space.com/27998-nasa-18-billion-omnibus-spending-bill.html" //Page URL
/* Hierarchy Variables */
s.hier1=""
s.eVar15=s.prop15
s.eVar16=s.prop16
s.eVar17=s.prop17
s.eVar18=s.prop18
/************* DO NOT ALTER ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE ! **************/
var s_code=s.t();if(s_code)document.write(s_code)//--></script>
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"><!--
if(navigator.appVersion.indexOf('MSIE')>=0)document.write(unescape('%3C')+'\!-'+'-')
//--></script><noscript><a href="http://www.omniture.com" title="Web Analytics"><img
src="http://toptenreviews.122.2o7.net/b/ss/toptenreviewsprod/1/H.19.4--NS/0"
height="1" width="1" border="0" alt="" /></a></noscript><!--/DO NOT REMOVE/-->
<!-- End SiteCatalyst code version: H.19.4. -->


<!-- Google Tag Manager -->
<noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5K6SSM"
height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
'//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-5K6SSM');</script>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->

<!-- Start Google Analytics tag -->

<script type="text/javascript">
  var _gaq = _gaq || [];

  _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-11681412-1'],
            ['_setDomainName', 'space.com'],
            ['_setCustomVar', 1, 'Section', 'spaceflight', 3],
            ['_trackPageview']);

  (function() {
    var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
    ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
    var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
  })();

</script>

<!-- End Google Analytics tag -->


<script type="text/javascript" src="http://w.sharethis.com/button/buttons.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">stLight.options({publisher: "44826d50-86b3-4690-b68d-df4ee65d1526", doNotHash:true, doNotCopy:true,hashAddressBar:false});</script>
  
<div id="top_side" class="fixed-bar">
  <div class="fixed-bar-contents">
  <div class="fixed-bar-logo"><a href="/"><img src="/images/site/space-logo.png" alt="Space"/></a></div>
  
    <span id="fixed-bar-hoverables">
    <span class="fixed-bar-search-icon fixed-bar-inactive-icon" id="fixed-bar-search-icon">
        <span class="fixed-bar-search-icon" onmouseover="stickybar_items('search',1);" onclick="stickybar_items('search');">
        &nbsp;
        </span>
        <div id="fixed-bar-search-bar" class="fixed-bar-search-bar">
          <form id="fix-bar-search" action="/search.php" method="get" name="fix-bar-search" onsubmit="return (($('#fixed-bar-search-box')[0].value == '') ? false : true);">
                <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-1894578950532504:47n5qdg34oa" />
                <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10" />
                <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" />
                <input class="fixed-bar-search-submit" type="image" form="fix-bar-search" name="sa" src="/images/site/search-icon-trans.png" onclick="return (($('#fixed-bar-search-box')[0].value == '') ? false : true);" />
                <input id="fixed-bar-search-box" onblur="stickybar_items();" class="fixed-bar-search-box" type="text" form="fix-bar-search" name="q" placeholder="search Space.com" />
            </form>
        </div>
    </span>

    <span id="fixed-bar-social-icons" class="fixed-bar-social-icons fixed-bar-inactive-social" onmouseover="stickybar_items('social',1);" onclick="stickybar_items('social');">
        <span class="fixed-bar-social-border"></span>
        <div id="fixed-bar-social-bar" class="fixed-bar-social-bar">
            <div class="social">
              <span class="fb">
                   <iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com/spacecom&amp;send=false&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=90&amp;show_faces=false&amp;font&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;action=like&amp;height=80" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:90px; height:20px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
              </span>
              <span class="gplus">
                  <!-- Place this tag where you want the +1 button to render. -->
                  <g:plusone size="medium" annotation="inline" width="120" href="http://www.space.com/"></g:plusone>
              </span>
              <span class="twitter">
                  <a href="https://twitter.com/spacedotcom" class="twitter-follow-button" data-show-count="false" data-show-screen-name="false" data-lang="en">Follow</a>
                  <script>!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs");</script>
              </span>
              <a href="http://www.space.com/home/feed/site.xml" alt="RSS">
                <span class="rss"></span>
              </a>
          </div>
        </div>
    </span>
    </span>
    <script>
    $('#fixed-bar-hoverables').mouseleave(function() {stickybar_items('',3); });
    </script>
    <ul class="top-nav fixed-bar-nav">
  
      
      
      <li class="" ><a href="/tech-robots">TECH</a></li>
  
      
      <li class="selected_section " ><a href="/spaceflight">SPACEFLIGHT</a></li>
  
      
      <li class="" ><a href="/science-astronomy">SCIENCE & ASTRONOMY</a></li>
  
      
      <li class="" ><a href="/search-for-life">SEARCH FOR LIFE</a></li>
  
      
      <li class="" ><a href="/skywatching">SKYWATCHING</a></li>
  
      
      <li class="" ><a href="/entertainment">ENTERTAINMENT</a></li>
  
      <li class="shop"><a href="http://store.space.com/?ICID=space-navs">SHOP</a></li>
    </ul>

  </div>
</div>

<div class="ie6_wrapper">

  

  <script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_skin');</script>
  <script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_interstitial');</script>

  <div style="position:absolute; height:0px; width:100%; .z-index:10000;">
    <div id="main_header" class="center_the_header clearfix">
<div id="ad-leaderboard">
  <div class="leaderboard">
    <script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_leaderboard');</script>
  </div>
</div>
<div class="header">
  <div style="float:left;padding-top:10px;"><a href="/"><img src="/images/site/space-logo.png" alt="space"/></a></div>
    <div class="search-social">
      <form id="search" action="/search.php" method="get" style="display:inline-block;" onsubmit="return (($('#searchbox')[0].value == '' || $('#searchbox')[0].value == 'search Space.com') ? false : true);">
            <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="partner-pub-1894578950532504:47n5qdg34oa" />
            <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:10" />
            <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" />
            <input id="search-button" type="submit" name="sa" value="" />
            <input id="searchbox" type="text" form="search" name="q" onfocus="if(this.value=='search Space.com') this.value='';" onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='search Space.com';" value="search Space.com" />
        </form>
        <div class="social">
            <a class="header_button" href="https://www.facebook.com/spacecom?cmpid=556675" target="_blank">
                <div class="header_social_button">
                    <img style="position:relative; left:8px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/header.png" title="Follow via Facebook">
                </div>
            </a>

            <a class="header_button" href="https://twitter.com/SPACEdotcom?cmpid=556676" target="_blank">
                <div class="header_social_button">
                    <img style="position:relative; left:-29px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/header.png" title="Follow via Twitter">
                </div>
            </a>

            <a class="header_button" href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/imaginova?cmpid=556677" target="_blank">
                <div class="header_social_button">
                    <img style="position:relative; left:-70px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/header.png" title="Follow via Linkedin">
                </div>
            </a>

            <a class="header_button" href="https://plus.google.com/+SPACEcom/posts?cmpid=556678" target="_blank">
                <div class="header_social_button">
                    <img style="position:relative; left:-107px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/header.png" title="Follow via Google+">
                </div>
            </a>
        </div>
    </div>



    <ul class="top-nav">
    
        
        
        <li class="" ><a href="/tech-robots">TECH</a></li>
    
        
        <li class="selected_section " ><a href="/spaceflight">SPACEFLIGHT</a></li>
    
        
        <li class="" ><a href="/science-astronomy">SCIENCE & ASTRONOMY</a></li>
    
        
        <li class="" ><a href="/search-for-life">SEARCH FOR LIFE</a></li>
    
        
        <li class="" ><a href="/skywatching">SKYWATCHING</a></li>
    
        
        <li class="" ><a href="/entertainment">ENTERTAINMENT</a></li>
    
        <li class="shop"><a href="http://store.space.com/?ICID=space-navs">SHOP</a></li>
    </ul>

    <div class="trend-bar">
        <span class="trending">TRENDING:</span>
        <a class="trending-topics" href="http://www.space.com/16149-night-sky.html">Skywatching Guide</a>
        //
        <a class="trending-topics" href="http://www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html">Space Webcasts</a>
        //
        <a class="trending-topics" href="http://www.space.com/17963-mars-curiosity.html">Mars Rover Curiosity</a>
        //
        <a class="trending-topics" href="http://www.space.com/11506-space-weather-sunspots-solar-flares-coronal-mass-ejections.html">Solar Flares </a>
        //
        <a class="trending-topics" href="http://www.space.com/34-image-day.html">Space Photos</a>
        //
        <a class="trending-topics" href="http://www.space.com/video/">Space Videos</a>
        //
        <a class="trending-topics" href="http://www.space.com/15693-telescopes-beginners-telescope-reviews-buying-guide.html">Telescopes for Beginners</a>
    </div>
</div>
<script>
  buildLinkTracking('top-nav','top-nav',null,null,null,true);
  buildLinkTracking('trend-bar','trend-bar',null,null,null,true);
</script>
</div>

    <div id="container">
      <div id="containerBg">
        
<div class="left_content">
    
<div class="main_title_cont" id="nointelliTXT">
	<div class="content_title">
		<h1>NASA Receives $18 Billion in Omnibus Spending Bill</h1>
	</div>
	<div class="by_line_date">
		by <a href='http://www.space.com/contact_author.php?a=U21WbVppQkdiM1Z6ZENwcVptOTFjM1FxTkNwemNHRmpaVzVsZDNNdVkyOXQ='>Jeff Foust</a>, SpaceNews Writer&nbsp;&nbsp; | &nbsp;&nbsp;December 12, 2014 03:20pm ET
	</div>
</div>

    <div class="lft_share_bar">
        <div id="sticky_social" class="static_cont">
	<span class="st_facebook_vcount" displayText='Share'></span>
	<span class="st_twitter_vcount" st_via='SPACEdotcom'></span>
	<span class='st_stumbleupon_vcount' displayText='Submit'></span>
	<span class='st_reddit_vcount' displayText='Reddit'></span>
	<span class="st_sharethis_custom"><img style="width:65px;" src="/images/site/social/share_more.png" /></span>
</div>
    </div>

    <div class="content">
        
<div class"partner_series">
<a href="http://www.spacenews.com/">
  <img alt="Spacenews" src="http://i.space.com/images/i/partners/4/original/spacenews.jpg?1374100803" style="max-width:540px; _width:540px;" />
</a>
</div>



        <div class="article_info">
  <div style="float:left; width:0px; height:0px; overflow:hidden;"><img class="ggnoads" src="" id="popped_image" onload="popupImageSize(this.src);" /></div>
  <input type='hidden' id='currentid' value='' />
  <div class="large_popper" id="custom0">
    <div class="current_custom ggnoads" id="current_cus0">
      <img id="current_limage0" src="" />
    </div>
  </div>



    
    <span style="float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0px;">
      <table border="0" style="width:1px;border-spacing:0;">
        <tr>
          <td>
            <img src="http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/844/iFF/nasa-logo.jpg?1394675317" alt="The logo of NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration." style="width:270px;" />
          </td>
            <tr>
              <td style="border: 1px solid lightgray; padding: 10px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">
                 <span style="width:auto; float:right; padding:2px 25px 0px 5px;">
                  <script>
                    var image_description = "The logo of NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration."
                    document.write('<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url='+escape(window.location.href)+'&media=http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/844/original/nasa-logo.jpg?1394675317&description='+escape(image_description)+'" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>');
                  </script>
                </span>
              
              The logo of NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.<br />
              
              
              <span style="margin-top:5px;float:left;clear: both;">Credit: NASA</span>
              
              
              <span style="max-width:270px;margin-top:5px;float:left;clear: both;"><div><a class="make_big" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick='loadPopupImage("http://i.space.com/images/i/000/008/844/original/nasa-logo.jpg?1394675317",this,0);' rel="#custom0">View full size image</a></div></span>
              
              </td>
            </tr>
        </tr>
      </table>
    </span>

      


    
    <p>
	WASHINGTON &mdash; NASA will receive $18 billion for 2015, more than a half a billion dollars above the Obama administration&rsquo;s original request, under the terms of an omnibus spending bill released late Dec. 9.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://spacenews.com/nasa-receives-18-billion-in-omnibus-spending-bill/">The appropriations bill</a>, which funds NASA and most of the rest of the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, gives the agency $17.99 billion, including increases for several major exploration and science programs. That total is $530 million above the administration&#39;s request of $17.46 billion for the agency, and about $100 million above separate House and Senate appropriations bills considered earlier this year. It&#39;s also nearly $350 million above NASA&rsquo;s&nbsp;enacted 2014 budget of $17.65 billion.</p>
<p>
	Two major elements of NASA&#39;s exploration strategy won funding boosts in the final bill. The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.space.com/12942-photos-nasa-giant-rocket-space-launch-system.html">Space Launch System</a>  heavy-lift rocket will receive $1.7 billion, an increase of $320 million over the administration&rsquo;s request. The Orion spacecraft will get $1.194 billion, an increase of $141.2 million over the request.
</p><p>
    <div class="about_adsense" id="nointelliTXT">
        <script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_sense1');</script>
    </div>
</p>
    
<div class='article_img_left'><div style='float:left; width:100%;'><a style='cursor:pointer;' rel='#custom44306' class='make_big' onclick="loadPopupImage('http://i.space.com/images/i/000/044/306/original/orion-separation-illustration.jpg?1418405047',this,44306);"><img  src='http://i.space.com/images/i/000/044/306/i01/orion-separation-illustration.jpg?1418405047' alt='Orion Separation Illustration' /></a><div class="large_popper" id="custom44306"><div class="current_custom ggnoads" id="current_cus44306"><img id="current_limage44306" src="" /></div></div></div><div style='float:left; width:100%;'><div style='display:inline-block; width:140px; margin-top:10px; border:1px solid #CCCCCC; padding:10px; font-size:12px; line-height:16px;'>
              <span style="float:right; padding:2px 5px 0px;">
                <script>
                  current_location = window.location.href;
                  image_description = "Artist’s concept of Orion separating from SLS rocket.<br />"
                  document.write('<a target="_blank" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url='+escape(current_location)+'&media=http://i.space.com/images/i/000/044/306/original/orion-separation-illustration.jpg?1418405047&description='+escape(image_description)+'" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>');
                </script>
              </span>Artist’s concept of Orion separating from SLS rocket.<br /><span style='float:left; margin-top:5px;'>Credit: NASA</span><div style="float:left;margin-top:5px;"><a rel="#custom44306" class="make_big" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick='loadPopupImage("/images/i/000/044/306/original/orion-separation-illustration.jpg?1418405047",this,44306);'>View full size image</a></div></div></div></div>
<p>
	The bill also requires NASA to submit in its next budget proposal five-year funding projections for the<a href="http://www.space.com/27980-bootprints-on-mars-in-2030-s-boeing-explains-video.html"> SLS and Orion programs</a>  that match the budget and schedule estimates for those programs developed in recent or ongoing reviews. Those estimates, developed by NASA for a program milestone called Key Decision Point C (KDP-C), were completed for SLS in August and will be completed for Orion in the spring of 2015.</p>
<p>
	The bill specifically requires those projections for the SLS to show completion by December 2017. The KDP-C review for SLS estimated that the vehicle would be ready for its first launch no later than November 2018.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.space.com/20622-nasa-budget-planetary-science-2014.html">NASA&#39;s planetary science program</a>  won an increase of $157 million, to $1.438 billion for 2015. The bill sets aside $100 million of that funding for a proposed Europa mission, for which the White House had requested just $15 million.</p>
<p>
	NASA&#39;s astrophysics program won a $77.5 million increase, to $684.8 million, in the omnibus bill. That includes $70 million for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, an airborne telescope for which NASA requested only $12 million. NASA had planned to mothball the flying observatory in 2015 if it could not find partners to fund the telescope&#39;s annual operating cost of about $85 million.</p>
<div class='article_img_right'><div style='float:left; width:100%;'><a style='cursor:pointer;' rel='#custom44307' class='make_big' onclick="loadPopupImage('http://i.space.com/images/i/000/044/307/original/sofia-flying-observatory.jpg?1418405227',this,44307);"><img  src='http://i.space.com/images/i/000/044/307/i01/sofia-flying-observatory.jpg?1418405227' alt=' SOFIA Flying Observatory' /></a><div class="large_popper" id="custom44307"><div class="current_custom ggnoads" id="current_cus44307"><img id="current_limage44307" src="" /></div></div></div><div style='float:left; width:100%;'><div style='display:inline-block; width:140px; margin-top:10px; border:1px solid #CCCCCC; padding:10px; font-size:12px; line-height:16px;'>
              <span style="float:right; padding:2px 5px 0px;">
                <script>
                  current_location = window.location.href;
                  image_description = "The SOFIA flying observatory.<br />"
                  document.write('<a target="_blank" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url='+escape(current_location)+'&media=http://i.space.com/images/i/000/044/307/original/sofia-flying-observatory.jpg?1418405227&description='+escape(image_description)+'" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a>');
                </script>
              </span>The SOFIA flying observatory.<br /><span style='float:left; margin-top:5px;'>Credit: NASA</span><div style="float:left;margin-top:5px;"><a rel="#custom44307" class="make_big" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick='loadPopupImage("/images/i/000/044/307/original/sofia-flying-observatory.jpg?1418405227",this,44307);'>View full size image</a></div></div></div></div>
<p>
	NASA&#39;s commercial crew program received $805 million in the bill, less than the requested $848 million but more than the program received in previous years. The omnibus bill leaves out a controversial provision from the Senate&#39;s appropriations bill that would have required certified cost and pricing data from commercial crew companies. That language was opposed by many supporters of the commercial crew program, as well as by the White House.</p>
<p>
	NASA&#39;s aeronautics program received $651 million, an increase of $100 million over the administration&rsquo;s request. In a report accompanying the bill, appropriators directed NASA to apply the additional funds proportionally across the programs in that mission directorate.</p>
<p>
	NASA&#39;s space technology program was cut by nearly $110 million from the administration&#39;s request, to $596 million. Appropriators offered no specific rationale for the cut in report language, nor direction on how to apply the reduced funding among its programs.</p>
<p>
	Other parts of the agency&#39;s budget saw only minimal changes from the administration&#39;s request. The bill includes $3.828 billion for space operations; $2.759 billion for safety, security, and mission operations (formerly known as cross-agency support); $419.1 million for construction; $119 million for education; and $37 million for the agency&rsquo;s inspector general.</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://spacenews.com/42371pending-nasa-budget-bill-would-likely-survive-senate-flip-lobbyist-says/">The overall bill</a>, sometimes called a &quot;cromnibus&quot; since it serves as only a continuing resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security through February 2015, was slated to be voted on by the House Dec. 11, and immediately thereafter by the Senate. The federal government is currently funded by a continuing resolution that expired at midnight of Dec. 11, and another short-term continuing resolution, lasting only a few days, was needed to keep the government operating until Congress passes the omnibus bill.</p>
<p>
	<em>This story was provided by <a href="http://spacenews.com/">SpaceNews</a>, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.</em></p>
</p>
    

</div>

         
  <div class="article_info" style="font-style:italic;">
    
  </div>


        
  <div class="article_additional"><!--style="float:left; width:100%; padding:10px;"-->
    <h3>EDITOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS</h3>
    <ul>
    
      
        <li><a href="http://spacenews.com/">More Space Industry News from SpaceNews</a></li>
      
    
      
        <li><a href="/11545-photos-obama-president-nasa-space.html">Gallery: President Obama and NASA</a></li>
      
    
      
        <li><a href="/11751-nasa-american-presidential-visions-space-exploration.html">50 Years of Presidential Visions for Space Exploration</a></li>
      
    
    </ul>
  </div>

    </div>
    		
    
    
<div id="nointelliTXT" class="about_adsense">
	<script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_sense2');</script>
</div>

    

    
<div class="parsely-like">
    <div class="parsely-headline">
        <div class="parsely-ltitle">More from Space.com</div>
    </div>
    <div id="parsely_popular_container" class="parsely-box parsely-content">
        <div id="parsely_most_popular" class="parsely_most_popular"></div>
    </div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
	$jq(document).ready(function(){
		if (parsely_container = document.getElementById("parsely_most_popular")){
			$jq.getJSON(build_parsely_json_url(), function(data){
			    var posts = data['data'];
			    for (var i=0; i< posts.length; i++) {
			        var divContainer = document.createElement("div");
			        divContainer.setAttribute('class', 'parsely-conts');
			        var link = document.createElement("a");
			        var image_div = document.createElement('span');
			        image_div.setAttribute('class', 'parsely-image');
			        if (posts[i].image_url) {
			            var image = document.createElement("img");
			            image.setAttribute("src", posts[i].image_url.replace(/\/i02\//,'/i01/'))
			        } else {
			            var image = document.createElement("div");
			            image.setAttribute("class", "default-image");
			        }
			        image_div.appendChild(image);
			        link.appendChild(image_div)
			        var title_div = document.createElement('div');
			        title_div.setAttribute('class', 'parsely-title');
			        var title = document.createElement("span")
			        var mod_title = posts[i].title;
			        mod_title = mod_title.replace(/u0027/g, "'");
			        mod_title = mod_title.replace(" | Space.com", "");
			        title.innerHTML = mod_title;
			        title_div.appendChild(title);
			        link.appendChild(title_div)
			        link.setAttribute("href", posts[i].url);
			        divContainer.appendChild(link)
			        parsely_container.appendChild(divContainer);
			    };
			    buildLinkTracking("parsely_most_popular", "more_from_space_parsely", "link");
			});
		}
	}); 
	function build_parsely_json_url(){
		return "http://api.parsely.com/v2/related?apikey=space.com&strategy=recency&days=8&limit=8&url="+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href)+"&callback=?";
	}
</script>

    



    <div style="clear:both; float:left; width:620px; padding-top:20px;">
    <div id="fb-root"></div>
    <script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"></script>
    <fb:comments href="http://www.space.com/27998-nasa-18-billion-omnibus-spending-bill.html" num_posts="10" width="620"></fb:comments>
</div>

</div>

<div id="side_nav">
    <div class="sidebar" style="text-align:center;">
    <script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_billboard');</script>
</div>


<div class="rnav_spacer"></div>
<div class="sidebar-module sidebar">
	<div class="subscribe_cont" id="nointelliTXT">
		<h3>SUBSCRIBE TO SPACE.COM</h3>
		<form id="" method="POST" action="/get_spacenews.php" target="_blank">
	        <input class="newsletter-input" type="text" name="email" id="" value="enter email here..." onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='enter email here...';" onfocus="if(this.value=='enter email here...') this.value='';" style="width:193px; ">
	        <input type='hidden' name='Newsletter Subscription' value=''>
	        <input type="image" src="/images/site/social/email-grey.png" class="footer-button" style="float:left;" name="contactFormSubmit" id="contactFormSubmit">
	    </form>
	</div>
</div>

<div class="sidebar-module sidebar">
	<div class="subscribe_cont" id="nointelliTXT">
		<h3>FOLLOW US</h3>
		<span class="right_nav_bar">
			<a class="right_nav_button" href="https://www.facebook.com/spacecom?cmpid=556679" target="_blank">
        		<div class="right_nav_social_button">
          			<img style="position:relative; " src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/right_nav.png" title="Follow via Facebook">
        		</div>
      		</a>

      		<a class="right_nav_button" href="https://twitter.com/SPACEdotcom?cmpid=556680" target="_blank">
        		<div class="right_nav_social_button">
          			<img style="position:relative; left:-56px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/right_nav.png" title="Follow via Twitter">
        		</div>
      		</a>

      		<a class="right_nav_button" href="http://www.linkedin.com/company/imaginova?cmpid=556682" target="_blank">
        		<div class="right_nav_social_button">
          			<img style="position:relative; left:-112px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/right_nav.png" title="Follow via Linkedin">
        		</div>
      		</a>

      		<a class="right_nav_button" href="https://plus.google.com/+SPACEcom/posts?cmpid=556681" target="_blank">
        		<div class="right_nav_social_button">
          			<img style="position:relative; left:-169px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/right_nav.png" title="Follow via Google+">
        		</div>
      		</a>
		</span>
	</div>
</div>



<div class="rnav_spacer"></div>
<script type='text/javascript'>
  if(typeof(get_top_five) != 'undefined'){
    document.write(get_top_five());
    buildLinkTracking("most_pop_b", "right_nav_most_pop", "b");
  }
</script>
<div class="rnav_spacer"></div>


<div class="sidebar" style="margin:30px 0;">
  <script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_sense3');</script>
</div>

<div class="rnav_spacer"></div>


<div class="sidebar" style="text-align:center;">
    <script type='text/javascript'>tmntag.adTag('ad_billboard2');</script>
</div>

<div id="store_ad_cont"></div>
</div>
        <div class="thebufferzone">&nbsp;</div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div id="network_contents">&nbsp;</div>
<script type="text/javascript">
	loadDataCache("newswire", "network_contents");
</script>
    <div class="footer-cont" ><div class="footer">
  <div class="footer-lcolumn">
    <span class="footer-headers">COMPANY</span>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.purch.com" target="_blank">Company Info</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.purch.com/advertise/#brands" target="_blank">About the Site</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.purch.com/#contact" target="_blank">Contact Us</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.purch.com/advertise/" target="_blank">Advertise with Us</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.purch.com/#contact" target="_blank">Using our Content</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.purch.com/#contact" target="_blank">Licensing & Reprints</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.purch.com/privact-policy/" target="_blank">Privacy Policy</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="/home/feed/site.xml" target="_blank">Sitemap</a>
  </div>
  <div class="footer-lcolumn">
    <span class="footer-headers">NETWORK</span>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.toptenreviews.com/" target="_blank">TopTenREVIEWS</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.tomsguide.com/" target="_blank">Tom’s Guide</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.laptopmag.com/" target="_blank">LAPTOP</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.tomshardware.com/" target="_blank">Tom’s Hardware</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/" target="_blank">BusinessNewsDaily</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.tomsitpro.com/" target="_blank">Tom’s IT Pro</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.space.com/" target="_blank">SPACE.com</a>
    <a class="footer-links" href="http://www.livescience.com/" target="_blank">LiveScience</a>
  </div>
  <div class="footer-rcolumn">
    <span class="footer-headers">FOLLOW US</span>
    <span class="bar">
      <a class="footer-button" href="/home/feed/site.xml" target="_blank">
        <div class="footer_social_button">
          <img style="position:relative; " src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/footer_buttons.gif" title="Follow via RSS Feed" />
        </div>
      </a>
      <a class="footer-button" href="https://www.facebook.com/spacecom" target="_blank">
        <div class="footer_social_button">
          <img style="position:relative; left:-65px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/footer_buttons.gif" title="Follow via Facebook" />
        </div>
      </a>
      <a class="footer-button" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SPACEcom/posts" target="_blank">
        <div class="footer_social_button">
          <img style="position:relative; left:-125px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/footer_buttons.gif" title="Follow via Google+" />
        </div>
      </a>
      <a class="footer-button" href="https://twitter.com/SPACEdotcom" target="_blank">
        <div class="footer_social_button">
          <img style="position:relative; left:-185px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/footer_buttons.gif" title="Follow via Twitter" />
        </div>
      </a>
      <a class="footer-button" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/VideoFromSpace" target="_blank">
        <div class="footer_social_button">
          <img style="position:relative; left:-245px;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/social/footer_buttons.gif" title="Follow via YouTube" />
        </div>
      </a>

    </span>
    <span class="footer-headers">SUBSCRIBE</span>
    <span class="bar">
      <form id="" method="POST" action="/get_spacenews.php" target="_blank">
        <input class="newsletter-input" type="text" name="email" id="" value="enter email here..." onblur="if(this.value=='') this.value='enter email here...';" onfocus="if(this.value=='enter email here...') this.value='';">
        <input type='hidden' name='Newsletter Subscription' value=''>
        <input type="image" src="/images/site/social/footer_email_submit.gif" class="footer-button" style="float:left;" width="75" height="28" name="contactFormSubmit" id="contactFormSubmit">
      </form>
    </span>
    <span class="bar">
      <a href="http://www.purch.com/" target="_blank"><img style="margin:10px 0 5px 0; display:block;" src="http://i.space.com/images/site/purchFooterLogoWhite.png" title="Purch" /></a>
      Copyright &copy; 2014 All Rights Reserved.
    </span>
  </div>
</div></div>
  </div>

  
  
  <div id="stuff_pop" style="display:none; overflow:visible; position:absolute;"></div>




<script type="text/javascript" src="http://space.us.intellitxt.com/intellitxt/front.asp?ipid=25732"></script>

  
    <script type="text/javascript">ggv2id='fb728bb0';</script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="http://g2.gumgum.com/javascripts/ggv2.js"></script>



<script type="text/javascript">
setTimeout(function(){var a=document.createElement("script");
var b=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
a.src=document.location.protocol+"//dnn506yrbagrg.cloudfront.net/pages/scripts/0012/7153.js?"+Math.floor(new Date().getTime()/3600000);
a.async=true;a.type="text/javascript";b.parentNode.insertBefore(a,b)}, 1);
</script>
<!--BEGIN QUALTRICS SITE INTERCEPT-->
<script type='text/javascript'>
(function(){var g=function(e,h,f,g){
this.get=function(a){for(var a=a+"=",c=document.cookie.split(";"),b=0,e=c.length;b<e;b++){for(var d=c[b];" "==d.charAt(0);)d=d.substring(1,d.length);if(0==d.indexOf(a))return d.substring(a.length,d.length)}return null};
this.set=function(a,c){var b="",b=new Date;b.setTime(b.getTime()+6048E5);b="; expires="+b.toGMTString();document.cookie=a+"="+c+b+"; path=/; "};
this.check=function(){var a=this.get(f);if(a)a=a.split(":");else if(100!=e)"v"==h&&(e=Math.random()>=e/100?0:100),a=[h,e,0],this.set(f,a.join(":"));else return!0;var c=a[1];if(100==c)return!0;switch(a[0]){case "v":return!1;case "r":return c=a[2]%Math.floor(100/c),a[2]++,this.set(f,a.join(":")),!c}return!0};
this.go=function(){if(this.check()){var a=document.createElement("script");a.type="text/javascript";a.src=g+ "&t=" + (new Date()).getTime();document.body&&document.body.appendChild(a)}};
this.start=function(){var a=this;window.addEventListener?window.addEventListener("load",function(){a.go()},!1):window.attachEvent&&window.attachEvent("onload",function(){a.go()})}};
try{(new g(100,"r","QSI_S_ZN_9srvTzSg2OdnORL","//zn_9srvtzsg2odnorl-techmedianetwork.siteintercept.qualtrics.com/WRSiteInterceptEngine/?Q_ZID=ZN_9srvTzSg2OdnORL&Q_LOC="+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href))).start()}catch(i){}})();
</script><div id='ZN_9srvTzSg2OdnORL'><!--DO NOT REMOVE-CONTENTS PLACED HERE--></div>
<!--END SITE INTERCEPT-->
<!-- START Parse.ly Include: Standard -->
<div id="parsely-root" style="display: none">
  <div id="parsely-cfg" data-parsely-site="space.com"></div>
</div>
<script>
(function(s, p, d) {
  var h=d.location.protocol, i=p+"-"+s,
      e=d.getElementById(i), r=d.getElementById(p+"-root"),
      u=h==="https:"?"d1z2jf7jlzjs58.cloudfront.net"
      :"static."+p+".com";
  if (e) return;
  e = d.createElement(s); e.id = i; e.async = true;
  e.src = h+"//"+u+"/p.js"; r.appendChild(e);
})("script", "parsely", document);
</script>
<!-- END Parse.ly Include -->
<script async='true' src='http://tracking.servebom.com/tracking/1/spacecom/view/' ></script>
<!-- Bizo -->
<script type="text/javascript">
  _bizo_data_partner_id = "1319";
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function() {
  var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
  var b = document.createElement("script");
  b.type = "text/javascript";
  b.async = true;
  b.src = (window.location.protocol === "https:" ? "https://sjs" : "http://js") + ".bizographics.com/insight.min.js";
  s.parentNode.insertBefore(b, s);
})();
</script>
<noscript>
  <img height="1" width="1" alt="" style="display:none;" src="//www.bizographics.com/collect/?pid=1319&fmt=gif" />
</noscript>
<!-- Bizo -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://loadus.exelator.com/load/?p=274&g=012&c=153234&ctg=spaceflight&subctg=" ></script>
</body>
</html>
